ap07_govpol_coursedesc

GoveRnmentanD PolitiCSUniteD StateSComPaRative

Course Descriptionmay 2008, may 2009

The College Board: Connecting Students to College Success

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns.

For further information, visit http://wendang.chazidian.com.

The College Board and the Advanced Placement Program encourage teachers, AP Coordinators, and school administrators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs. The College Board is committed to the principle that all students deserve an opportunity to participate in rigorous and academically challenging courses and programs. All students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses. The Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.

© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, APCD, AP Central, AP Vertical Teams, Pre-AP, SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. connect to college success is a trademark owned by the College Board. PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Dear Colleagues:

The College Board has pledged to become a stronger advocate in improving education for America’s children. Our nation’s college graduation rate is not what it should be and, with your help, we can do something about that. One of the best predictors of college performance is success in an AP® course in high school. A study published by the National Center for Educational Accountability has shown that students who succeed on AP Exams benefit academically with better college graduation rates than their fellows.

In 2006, more than 16,000 schools offered high school students the opportunity to take AP courses, and over 1.3 million students then took the challenging AP Exams. These students felt the power of learning come alive in the classroom, and many earned college credit and placement while still in high school. Behind these students were talented, hardworking teachers who are the heart and soul of the Advanced Placement Program®.

This AP Course Description summarizes the variety of approaches and curricula used in college courses corresponding to the AP course. Teachers have the exibility to develop their own syllabi and lesson plans, and to bring their individual creativity to the AP classroom. In fact, AP Exams are designed around this exibility and allow students whose courses vary significantly equal opportunities to demonstrate college- level achievement. Finally, this curricular exibility is re ected in the AP Course Audit, which identifies elements considered by higher education as essential to a college-level course, providing a consistent standard for disparate AP classes across the world, while not setting forth a mandated AP curriculum.

The College Board is committed to supporting the work of AP teachers. AP work-shops and summer institutes, held around the globe, provide stimulating professional development for tens of thousands of teachers each year. The College Board Fellows scholarships provide funds to support many teachers’ attendance at these institutes. Teachers and administrators can also visit AP Central, the College Board’s online home for AP professionals, at http://wendang.chazidian.com. Here, teachers have access to a growing set of resources, information, and tools, from textbook reviews and lesson plans to electronic discussion groups (EDGs) and the most up-to-date exam information. I invite all teachers, particularly those who are new to the AP Program, to take advantage of these resources.

As we look to the future, the College Board’s goal is to broaden access to AP classes while maintaining high academic standards. Reaching this goal will require a lot of hard work. We encourage you to connect students to college and opportunity not only by providing them with the challenges and rewards of rigorous academic programs like AP but also by preparing them in the years leading up to AP courses.Sincerely,

Gaston CapertonPresidentThe College Boardi

Contents

Welcome to the AP Program ................................................AP Courses ...........................................................AP Exams .............................................................AP Course Audit .......................................................AP Government and Politics ................................................Introduction ...........................................................The Courses ..........................................................Teaching AP Government and Politics ..................................11113333

United States Government and Politics .......................................5The Course ...........................................................5Goals ..............................................................5Topics ..............................................................5 I. Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government ..........5 II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors ...................................6 III. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media .................6 IV. Institutions of National Government ..............................7 V. Public Policy ..................................................7 VI. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ...................................7Curriculum Outline ..................................................8The Exam .............................................................9Sample Multiple-Choice Questions .....................................9Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions ...............................18Sample Free-Response Questions .....................................19Comparative Government and Politics .......................................The Course ..........................................................Goals .............................................................Topics ............................................................. I. Introduction to Comparative Politics ............................. II. Sovereignty, Authority, and Power ............................... III. Political Institutions ............................................ IV. Citizens, Society, and the State .................................. V. Political and Economic Change .................................. VI. Public Policy .................................................Curriculum Outline .................................................The Exam ............................................................Sample Multiple-Choice Questions ....................................Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions ...............................Sample Free-Response Questions .....................................222222232323242526282931313637© 2007 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit http://wendang.chazidian.com (for AP professionals) and http://wendang.chazidian.com/apstudents (for students and parents).iii